The Organization

UNESCO Director-General in Washington

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, will be in Washington on 14 and 15 December to address the Women in Public Service Colloquium, which will also be attended by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Director-General will take part in a panel discussion, Women Leaders – Forging Global Solutions.

While in Washington, the Director-General will discuss U.S. engagement with UNESCO with a range of elected officials including: Gary Ackerman (D-New York), Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida), Howard Berman (D-California), Patrick L Leahy (D-Vermont), Russ Carnahan (R-Missouri),Sam Farr (D-California). She will also meet with Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, Howard Kohr, Executive Director of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and members of the American Jewish Committee. Because of laws passed in the 1990s, the U.S. Government was required to with-hold funding for UNESCO when it voted to admit Palestine to the Organization in October. UNESCO is the first UN organization to recognize Palestine.

Irina Bokova will also participate in a Roundtable at the Council on Foreign Relations, meet with the Editorial Boards of both the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, and answer questions from journalists at the National Press Club.